


A Cloudy Sky

by PrincessPlutonium



Category: Choices: High School Story: Class Act (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 04:36:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21293681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessPlutonium/pseuds/PrincessPlutonium
Summary: It's a year later and Storme and Skye's relationship is still going strong. Take a glimpse into their lives now and enjoy the adventure.
Relationships: Skye & Trevor, Skye Crandall/Main Character (High School Story: Class Act), Skye Crandall/OC, Skye Crandall/Storme, Skye/mc, Storme & Carter, Storme & Erin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	A Cloudy Sky

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for me BEFORE book 2 of class act came out. I wanted to post it because why not. Read, dont read, all up to you. Enjoy nonetheless.  
Btw they are about 16 in this. Takes place a year later.  
Also I can't do tags so might fix them later.  
Carter= MC brother  
Storme=MC

“Storme! Hurry up we cant keep Rory waiting!” my twin brother Carter yells from outside my locked bedroom door. I'm standing in front of my full body mirror wearing a white short sleeved shirt with my black bomber jacket over, some ripped skinny jeans, and black high topped shoes, smoothing out the faint wrinkles that have settled into my clothes. My hair has gotten some inches longer over time and after getting a few styling tips from Rory and Carter, I've been keeping it punk pixie cut style. It's a blonde-brown now but I have been thinking about coloring it.

“Coming!” I yell back to him. I can hear his heavy footsteps leave and go down the hall, he's probably a bit stressed about basketball, making him a bit more moody. I quickly grab my backpack and head to the kitchen.

“Hey. Aren't you going to eat breakfast?” my mom asks as I enter, opening up the refrigerator looking for something to snack on.

“Sorry. Running a little late.”

“She can't spend another minute apart from her giiirlfrieeeend.” Carter cuts in making kissy faces and teasing me, my face grows warm and I playfully shove him.

“Hey. Leave your sister alone. You were like this once to you know.” Dad quips, choosing the perfect time to walk into the kitchen and defend me. Carter rolls his eyes but smiles back anyway.

“Yeah, yeah. Let's go Storme.” Carter says with a smile on his face. He throws his backpack over one shoulder while finishing off his breakfast and heads out the door.

“I'll take an apple. Bye! Love you guys!” I loudly say over my shoulder as I hustle out the door hearing “love you to” as I shut it behind me. Carter is standing out front casually talking to Rory who looks to be putting some school supplies in her car. She spots me over Carter's shoulder and waves. I smile back and head over to where they're talking.

“Hey Rory. Whatcha dudes talking about over here?” I ask as I look between the two of them.

“Apparently Rory has some major school projects to work on and didn't know it'll take this long to fit it into her trunk.” Carter answers tilting his head and turning it towards me.

“Hey, I just underestimated the space in the trunk of the car is all. Ol' reliable is a little unreliable right now.” Rory states as she closes her passenger car door where her bag is located. 

“Ouch shots fired.” I say jokingly, nudging my twin a bit as he shakes his head and releases a puff of air.

“Sorry about taking a little longer. Well, I guess you were running a little behind so let's call it even. I normally stop and get a hot chocolate before I get to school when I drive alone. We can stop and buy some before school if you like?” Rory offers. She points her thumb over her shoulder towards her car parked in the driveway. 

“Sweet! We get drinks!” Carter exclaims throwing his hands in the air already walking closer towards Rory's car.

“No, don't want to use up anymore time. Besides, don't you have to meet someone about basketball before class anyway Carter. It's rude to drink something when you're in a meeting.” I tell Rory while throwing an accusatory look towards Carter for forgetting something so important.

“Oh right. Forgot about that. We'll get some friend drinks next time we hitch a ride, but I get to sit shotgun.” he says, pouting off towards the car. 

Rory gives a small laugh as she opens the driver's side door and gets in. I throw my bag in the back and plop down in the seat, shutting the car door behind me. I take some bites out of my apple while Rory and Carter debate about what station to listen to. They settle for obnoxious holiday music. 

"Guys lets not listen to this station." I pipe in. Pleading with my eyes for them to change it. 

"Sorry Storme but the rules of the Carly are that the front seats get to decide the music." Rory points out as Carter turns in his seat and gives a cheeky smile. 

"Yeah Storme. Besides, don't you like this music around this time of year?" Carter asks me.

"Not when you play it every chance we get into a car." I say back giving him a 'duh' look. The response I get is Rory and Carter belting out the songs that come on. I laugh and pull my earphones out and scroll through my music. I settle on a song I've been listening to a lot lately by 'Daughter’ called “Burn it Down”. I nod my head along as the car ride continues it's route and I snack on my apple. I scroll through my phone looking up colorful hair dye ideas when the car stops and somebody else gets in and slides in next to me. Skye. I look towards her with a dopey smile on my face as she smiles towards me, taking one of my earphones out and putting it in her own ear. The air is getting colder now that fall is here so she's wearing a beanie on her head and some black jeans instead of fishnets. She leans her body into mine slightly and I gladly welcome the closeness.

“What are you staring at dork?” She asks me as she gently nudges my shoulder with hers.

“You just look cute today is all.” I state, shrugging my shoulders while taking another bite of my apple. Skye and I have been dating for a year already. With her not wanting to be home all the time with her overbearing parents, who are giving her unwanted attention now that her brother is away at college, she's been spending time at local concerts and I would tag along because I really like the vibe. She has also been spending some time at Rory's house after she developed a mother-daughter type relationship with Rory's mom, so we see each other quite often. We would even have some theatre practice nights, which really was just an excuse to hang out, but fun nonetheless. After spending that time together we realized we actually have a lot more in common than we thought and enjoy the small things we do together. Skye looks down at my phone and notices me looking at hair dyes.

“Your hair looks cute today. Thinking about getting more punk and coloring it? Looks like I'm rubbing off on you.” she teases me. She lightly runs her left hand through my hair examining the strands that slip through her fingers.

“Hey, I was punk before it was cool.” I joke back at her as she drops her hand from my hair.

“Says the girl that didn't know 'Young and Blind’.” Skye quips back, small smile on her face as she does so.

“Alright fine. You're the punk princess and I'm just the punk peasant.” I say as I give a tiny pout before smiling and taking another bite of my apple. 

“That's like the only circumstance I would ever be a princess.” Skye replies back as she lightly rolls her eyes and looks out the window behind me. I turn and follow her gaze noticing that even though most of the plants are barren, it still looks beautiful and serene. I use my breath to fog up the window and draw three hearts in it.

“Look Skye. I'm an artist.” I say and turn to Skye pointing to my slowly fading art piece.

“Adorable. Truly a masterpiece.” she says back as she quietly laughs at what I said. I finish off my apple place it in a cup holder to throw away later. Skye scrolls through my phone looking at all the different songs I have and settles on an upbeat alternative song. She sets my phone down between the both of us, sliding her hand over and gently linking her fingers through mine. This isn't the first time she has held my hand but it still brings a blush to my cheeks. I look down at our hands and give a small smile while enjoying the music playing in my ear. We sit like that until Rory pulls the car into her parking space. I put away my earbuds and turn off my music while Skye grabs her bag and exits the car. I hop out and she walks to my side and laces her hand through mine. 

“Hey nerd. I'm gonna need you to drop off my stuff at my locker so I can get to that basketball meeting.” Carter says. He comes up from behind me while placing both hands on my shoulders and giving a little squeeze. As we continue our walk towards the school he places one strap of his bag over my shoulder and begins to run off. 

“Thanks sis! I'll pay you back!” he yells out while jogging backwards then quickly turns before he runs into anybody. I let out a sigh, the warmth creating a very faint cloud in the chilly morning air. Once we make it into the school doors Skye turns to me and places a kiss on my right cheek.

“You get that done and I'll meet up with you at lunch. Trevor needed some help with some rigging and lights.” she informs me, briefly giving my hand a squeeze. I nod my head in response as she turns and walks off, looking back over her shoulder once more as I wave to her, a smile gracing her lips. Once she is out of sight I head to my brother’s locker and unlock it, trying to organize his school supplies as I place them in.

“You guys might be twins, but I'm pretty sure you're Storme and not Carter.” Erin's voice catches me a bit off guard but when I shut Carter's locker she is standing there with her eyebrows slightly raised and a smirk on her lips. I look behind her and Ajay is standing there with his head deep in a book, barely concentrating on everything else.

“And here I thought I was fooling everyone.” I joke back causing Erin to laugh and Ajay to glance up from his book. We begin making our way towards my locker when Erin chimes in.

“So Storme, are you going to audition again? You did really well last time. Ajay won't admit it but he thinks you've come a long way” Erin says as Ajay lightly shakes his head but a quiet chuckle slips out as he does so.

“I'm not really a theatre nerd but I have fun with you guys and the adrenaline of it all is fun, so I think I might.” I say back as I place some stuff in my locker and close it back up. Erin hums in response, spending the rest of the time talking about random things. Then the bell rings and we all say bye to each other. Classes go on just like everyday. In one class a student somehow got his jacket wrapped around his chair and when he stood up his chair went with him, that was as exciting as my morning classes went. I quickly drop off a textbook at my locker and head to Skye's locker. She isn't there yet so I walk to it and wait while looking around in hopes of seeing her.

“Storme!” a voice rings out. I turn and face the voice that called me, it’s Erin and beside her is Rory. 

“Hey guys. What's up?” I ask as both stand near me.

“Headed to lunch just like you.” Rory answers for them both. Erin nods along to what she says then I feel a hand nudging my back. I turn back around and a smile stretches across my face.

“Hi Skye.” I almost whisper it to her which she raises an eyebrow to. I shuffle a few inches back once I realize she nudged me because I was standing in front of her locker.

“Hey guys. Ready for lunch?” Skye asks the three of us as she places a few belongings in her locker. She then closes her locker and turns to face us.

“We are. You ready?” Rory once again asks, motioning her head towards the direction of the cafeteria. Skye nods her head and links her hand with mine making our way to get lunch. I try wiping the smile from my face but only manage to tone it down some. Erin and I head for the lunch line as Skye and Rory head to the lunch table where the rest of the group is seated. I'm in the process of picking up a tray of food when Erin speaks.

“So. You and Skye seem to be doing well.” Erin points out, there's a hint of something added to her voice but I can't quite pick out what it is.

“Yeah. Everything about her makes me smile.” I tell Erin, grabbing a bag of chips and some fries.

“I can tell. You can never get that grin off your face.” Erin playfully teases me causing a light blush to makes it way to my cheeks. 

“And you get all adorably flustered about it. My little baby is so innocent.” Erin coos at me like I'm a child, tousling my hair a bit.

“Okay okay, mom.” I say. I start trying to swat her hand away with my left hand and balancing my food with my right. We make our way to our usual table, Erin sitting next to Ajay and me sitting next to Skye. Even though we didn't explicitly tell our friends we started dating, they figured it out rather quickly and we just confirmed it. They usually let us sit next to each other and don't mind if the other tags along when invited somewhere. I set my tray of food down and hand Skye the french fries and bag of chips. Her left hand settles on my leg by my knee while she eats the chips with her right hand. I happily enjoy my food while everyone converses about stuff.

“I couldn't place my finger on it until I realized, she had a dog that whole time.” the table laughs at the story Trevor was telling before we got to the table.

“Serves you right, you should never make fun of fashion.” Natalie laughs out, Clint giggling along. They continue to tell jokes and have casual conversation, mentioning the play auditions that will be coming up. I finish my lunch fairly quickly because of the lack of breakfast I had this morning. I notice Skye casting glances my way several times, seeming kind of fidgety. I lean over and whisper in her ear.

“You okay?” her eyebrows furrow before she turns and whispers back.

“I want to show you something.” Skye hesitantly says. She pauses before she gets up, waiting for a confirmation if I want to go or not. I gather my trash and get up to throw it away, I nod towards Skye and she gets up to.

“We'll see you later guys. Got something to do.” I say towards our friends gathered at the table.

“Don't do anything Ajay wouldn't do!” Erin yells as Skye leads the way. I just chuckle, shaking my head, and follow Skye out. She winds her way around people, but never letting me stray too far from her. We end up making our way outside and between a few buildings. The place is void of any people, which is a shame because it is surrounded by beautiful tiny flowers. Skye sits on a decently sized rock that has grass and little weeds growing off of it. She lets out a sigh and closes her eyes for a moment. I get closer and sit next to her, running my hand over the tall grass. 

“Did I ever tell you how flowers would speak so much to me?” she opens her eyes and gazes out onto the field of flora. I pause and look to her. “Sometimes I like to come here and think, how I want to be a flower. These flowers are always in bloom. Even if the world tells them they can't anymore, when most of the other plants have shed their leaves. These ones remain. Even in the toughest conditions they power through.” Skye quietly says. Her hand hovers over a few flowers before she reaches down and delicately picks one and holds it in her hand almost as if it will break if she moves.

“I think you're a flower.” I tell her, gently taking the flower from her hand. I twirl it between my fingers, examining all sides of it. Skye looks to me for an explanation. 

“To someone who chooses to only look at flowers from a distance, they won't know the difference between one flower and another. Once you get close enough you soon realize that this single flower not only has beautiful petals but everything about this flower is unique. It has a few tears and bends showing it’s delicate nature, and it's still standing. It still wants to grow, still wants to bring joy to people who walk by. It has a purpose and right now that purpose is to be loved and understand that it makes someone happy.” I say, elaborating my meaning for Skye. I turn towards her, whose eyes are slightly wider than before, and I place the flower behind her ear. She continues to scan my face, I give her a small smile and wait for her to break the silence.

“Your nose. It's red.” Skye states as if it's the most obvious fact in the world. 

“It's just a little cold out here.” I respond. She reaches up and grabs her beanie from both sides, lifting it off her head. She then extends her beanie towards me and fixes it onto my head. Her hands linger on the beanie once it's on, eyes trailing across my face. 

She gently tugs on the beanie causing my head to lean in closer to hers. Our noses brush for a second before our slightly cold lips meet in a sweet kiss. There's no urgency behind it, no sort of roughness, just an innocence conveying more emotion than I can process. Her hands fall away from the beanie, one rests on my hand the other cups my cheek. We pull away, Skye leaning her forehead against mine. Her eyes are still closed and her hand falls from my cheek to my left shoulder, she shivers slightly. I give a little smile, these are the moments that mean the most to me. When she is willing to relax and feel free enough to be herself and not have to worry about her image and what someone thinks of her. I pull her into an embrace, getting as close as I can to share warmth. My arms wrap around her upper back while her arms wrap around my waist under my jacket. She sinks her face into my shoulder mumbling something into it. 

“What was that?” I quietly ask her, not wanting to ruin the peaceful atmosphere around us. She shuffles a bit before repeating.

“Thank you.” she repeats quietly. She buries her cold nose against my neck causing goosebumps to rise on my skin, she notices and laughs.

“You're so cute Storme.” she says, chuckling against my skin, my face growing warm at the comment. The bell rings soon after, signaling lunch being over. We detach ourselves from the hug and make our way back towards the lockers. We share the next class together as it is 'theatre class', meaning everyone who helps with plays takes it. We make our way into the room after getting some stuff we needed, almost the whole crew is there. Erin is on stage talking with Ajay, Rory is a little ways off with Clint and Natalie not too far behind her, and Trevor is pushing around stage items. We set our stuff down on the seats and make our way up to the stage. 

“Cool hat Storme.” Rory tells me, giving me a wink and snicker. I reach up and touch the beanie remembering I had it on.

“Oh. Sorry Skye. Here.” I say while I remove the beanie from my head and place it on top of hers, fixing it to look right. She pushes a few hairs out of her face and adjust the beanie slightly, removing the flower and tucking it away in her bag. 

“Alright lovebirds. Get over here and help.” Ajay calls out to us. Skye blushes a bit before turning and going to the tech booth, while I just smile and get onto the stage.

“Alright. Considering the size of our group and the successfulness of our last play, more people will be joining the crew. All parts. That means more tech crew, more actors, more costume and prop designers, and I even get a co director. It is imperative that we show them our best, no less. They will arrive in a week so for today we need to prepare. Improv.” Ajay announces walking off stage to watch from a distance.

“I'm no good at improv. This is going to go horribly.” I shyly say. My nerves sky rocket and can be heard clearly in my voice. 

“Hey calm down. You got this. Just remember that improv has no rules, just go along with it. Always say yes.” Rory tries comforting me and giving pointers but it's not sinking in yet.

“Easy for you to say. You're like the best at everything.” it might be exaggerating but it isn't too far off, Rory really does just excel at everything she puts her mind to. The improv session starts and my body goes through the motions without my brain processing any of it, almost as if someone took over my body and did everything for me. It's a relief in a weird sort of way, I don't remember if I made a fool of myself or not. 

“Nice work everyone. I was also informed by our teacher that we will be taking a theatre bonding trip due the amount of new members. They are all transfer students so this trip makes it fun and easy. The school is paying for it and it is an overnight stay. If you are under eighteen you need a permission slip so grab one on your way out. The trip is mandatory, if for some personal reason you cannot make it we can arrange something.” Ajay nonchalantly tells everyone this as he writes something down on a sheet of paper he has.

“Sounds fun.” Rory seems to be the only person that is happy to go on this surprise trip, thus causing Clint and Natalie to take a liking to the idea.

“Free trip. I'm down.” Erin warms up to the idea, nodding her head in approval. My eyes scan the room and land on Skye trying to read her thoughts on the matter. Soon everyone is packing up and getting ready to leave for their final class, grabbing permission slips on their way out the door. I grab one and slip it into my bag watching as Skye scans the paper with a worried look on her face. I walk over to her as she folds the piece of paper and stuffs it away.

“Hey. Want me to walk you to class?” I cautiously ask her, not wanting to make her uncomfortable if she needs the space.

“Uh, no that's okay. I'll just see you after school.” Skye seems distracted when she says this, not fully comprehending what's going on. She shakes her head as if she will snap out of her thoughts. She turns and looks at me, giving me a tiny smile and moves out the door. I furrow my eyebrows in thought, something about this trip is bothering her but I don't want to push her to talk about it if she doesn't want to. I sigh and head to my final class. We end up analyzing a film, time flying by. Soon school is over and it is time to leave. I picked up the stuff I needed from my locker, normally Skye and I would meet and decide how we should get home but maybe she needs space to think about stuff, even though I would gladly listen to her. 

“What's got you down kid?” Erin's voices asks from behind me as I head out the main door, turning and looking up at her. Admittedly I've been lost in thought about what's wrong with Skye that I started to outwardly show my worry, without me knowing I was doing it.

“Just thinking too much I guess.” I scuff my shoe against the ground, I trust Erin but if I'm not even sure what's going on there really isn't anything I can tell her. She looks at my curiously before nodding her head and dismissing the topic. 

“Your girlfriend was looking for you earlier.” She mentions, giving me a look, trying to read my reaction. It's clear on my face, my eyes widen a bit and my lips quirk up at the edges. Erin smirks my way, a light blush rising to my cheeks, until I look down at my phone to text Skye. She already messaged me saying to meet her in the parking lot of the school. I wave bye to Erin as I hustle over towards the student parking lot. I glance around the parking lot full of students getting ready to leave or simply hanging around talking with friends. I spot Skye talking with Trevor, both lounging on a short brick fence where the ‘rebel’ kids are talking and skating around. I make my way towards Skye, a car pulling up for Trevor as he says his goodbyes and drives away. Skye spots me as I'm walking towards her, she picks up her bag and meets me halfway. As I'm about to say something to her she surprises me by throwing her body into mine and wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. Her face is pressed into my neck, slowly I wrap my arms around her slightly smaller form.

“Hey, what's the matter?” I softly ask her, doing my best not to startle her. She shakes her head then lets go of me and meets my gaze.

“Nothing, just wanted to hug you. Want to walk home with me?” she asks as she links her fingers through mine but not pushing any which way. I can see in Skye's eyes that it was more than just a random hug, so I nod my head and we begin the trek home. She stays silent for awhile. 

“Whatever is on your mind, I'll be here. I'll listen. Promise.” I don't look to her as I speak, instead keeping my eyes forward as we walk. I can feel her gaze linger on my face for a moment. She then makes a noise to acknowledge me. She doesn't go to her house right away, instead she stays a few hours at mine then visits Rory's. After it gets dark she heads home, not wanting to stay out too late even though she doesn't want to go home quite yet. Later that night she texts me saying goodnight, I respond back with a 'sweet dreams’ and a few heart emojis. Soon the night consumes me and I fall asleep. 

The week goes by like any other. The anticipation to go on the trip and meet the newcomers was building gradually over the week. Everyone seemed more and more excited, and soon the day was here. It was way too early in the morning when I started getting a phone call. I blindly reach for my phone and sleepily answer. 

“Hello?”

“Hey I'm at your house. I didn't want to ring the doorbell and risk waking everybody up. Can I come in?” it was Skye. I rub the sleep from my eyes and see that it's four in the morning. 

“Yeah. I'll be there in a second.” I hang up the phone and try to clean myself up as best I can, quickly washing my face and brushing my teeth. It is a bit odd that she would be here so early but that's for her to tell me. I throw on some socks and race to the front door, opening it to the image of Skye holding a bag and idly messing with her phone. She looks up once I open the door and I gesture her inside. She slips by me and waits for me to close the door. I turn and motion for her to follow me to my room.

“Come on. Don't wanna make too much noise.” i whisper. Once in my bedroom she drops her bag on the floor and sits on my bed. I turn towards her after closing my door.

“Why are you here so early Skye?” I question, taking a seat next to her. 

“Well we are carpooling so I figured if I came here we can save on stops.” she quietly says. She fiddles a bit with her hands but I otherwise let it go. 

“Well since you're here you can help me pick out some outfits.” I head towards my closet and start pulling pieces of clothing out. We spend about an hour deciding which few outfits I should take then I pack everything else I would need, plus a few extras like a hoodie. We still had time before the others came to pick us up so we made a simple breakfast, only making a little mess. Carter comes bounding into the kitchen at the smell of food. 

“Make any for me?” he pokes around where we had made everything but finds nothing.

“Nope. Special breakfast for field trip kids only.” I tell him back getting a huff and pout in return. 

“Why can't I go on the trip with you?” Carter asks while putting a piece of bread in the toaster. 

“We're bonding. It's more of like fun school than vacation.” I point out and put our dirty plates in the sink. Carter groans as Skye and I head back to my room and wait to get picked up. About an hour passes and the doorbell rings. Erin is standing on the other side with a smile on her face.

“Hey there. Rory is just putting some stuff in the car. Ready?” she asks noticing Skye a few feet behind me.

“Yup. All our stuff is right here. Let's go.” I pick up my bag as Skye grabs hers, shouting bye to my family I head out. We make our way towards the street and there's a grayish van parked there, with everybody either arranging items or sitting in their seats. Once we reach the van it looks surprisingly spacious inside. It has eleven seats with three seats to a row with just enough foot space between the rows. There's a few bags here and there but it still looks cozy. It looks like everybody already has their set-up, minus Skye and I. Erin seems to be driving as most of her stuff is piled in the front. Rory is sitting passenger seat, Clint and Natalie seemed to have taken the first row along with Ajay. Trevor is seated in the back row with a few stray bags and some snacks and drinks. The middle row is empty so we pile our stuff in there.

“I call window seat!” I scramble to the seat closest to the window and shove my bag to the floor. A few chuckles are heard and then Skye's bag joins mine on the floor. 

“Alright. We're going to leave now. Everyone used the restroom?” Erin asks once she gets back into the driver's seat.

“Yes mom.” Rory teases earning some laughs. 

“It will be like an hour and a half drive and I’m not stopping for a potty break.” Erin says in a joking manner, starting the engine. Everybody settles into their seats, getting comfortable for the long ride. The music plays as we sometimes sing along but after about twenty minutes people grow tired. A few snacks and drinks get passed around at some point, casual conversation being made as we eat. Thirty minutes later and Trevor falls asleep in the back. Soon we all start doing our own thing, Ajay reading something, Clint and Natalie gossiping, Rory and Erin having a quiet conversation, and Skye and I getting comfortable. Skye was sitting in the seat by the door with some stuff piled on the seat between us, but we since moved it and she moved closer to me. After talking for a bit she leans more of her weight into me. The radio softly playing in the background as I circle my arm around her and let her rest until we get there. I stare out the window to occupy my mind. 

“We're here!” my eyes snap open at the shout. I don't even remember dozing off. The doors are already open, Skye standing just outside the door. Trevor is passing stuff off to Erin who is trying to get everything out of the van. Clint and Natalie shuffling out grabbing their bags on the way. I step out of the van, bag in hand, and see what it is we will be staying in. It's a beautifully designed, modern looking cabin. There's a lot of windows on the first floor, letting tons of natural light in. There are stairs that lead up to a large deck with some seating on it. I head towards the cabin and realize Ajay and Rory are already inside packing things away and picking rooms. There's a spacious living area and kitchen, everything is surprising bigger than what you can see outside. There's stairs that lead up two more floors and there's quite a bit of rooms here. I quickly run up the stairs to see which rooms are where. There's two ground floor bedrooms and three each on the other two floors. The two ground floors have one bed each but the other rooms have two, looks like we're bunking. One ground floor room is taken by Ajay and the other by the teacher. I go to the top floor and find a peculiar sight in one of the rooms, there's a small door in one of the closets. I open it up and find there's another room, not a big room but it is definitely big enough to comfily fit a few people. There's only a small couch in there but it's enough to sell me. I sit on the small couch and steady my nerves. Meeting new people who are going to join our next play, worry runs through me. What if we don't get along? I can't have another incident like last year. I take a deep breath before I exit the small door and set my stuff down on one of the beds. I head back downstairs and everyone has brought everything in and they are waiting around as Ajay has gathered them.

“Great, just want to give you all a heads up. In order for this to properly work we have decided to assign rooms. There isn't a lot of new people joining us, but we want to spread them out as much as we can. They will be here shortly.” as if on cue a car can be heard pulling up. Ajay heads outside and talking can be heard. We all look towards each other in anticipation, waiting for someone to walk through the door. Our teacher, Mr. Olson, walks in first greeting us all and heading to his room on the ground floor. Ajay walks through the door and behind him are five people. 

“Everyone these are our new members. They will all give a short introduction of themselves.” Ajay motions to the small group of people. 

“Hello. I'm Remi. I am a tech geek. Oh and they them pronouns please.” a green eyed individual with sort of medium length wavy blond hair with one long braid down the left side answered. They are wearing a light blue button up with white suspenders and black jeans with light shoes. Their personality seems very bubbly.

“Hey there I'm Icaruna this is my brother Killian. He's a bit of a troublemaker but don't worry I'll keep him in check.” someone in the back pipes up. She has long black hair that flows over her shoulders and down her back with bangs that stop just before her auburn like eyes. She's wearing a navy blue pull over hoodie with light ripped jeans and dark gray shoes. She points to her brother Killian who shrugs and gives a quick wave. He has similar features with the jet black shaggy hair that ends just shy of his yellow-green hazel eyes. He wears a graphic tee with a light jacket over, a black scarf adorning his neck, with blue jeans and some black combat looking boots. 

“We aren't twins. She's just my half sister. She's a tad more Asian than I am.” he teases as she giggles and nods her head.

The tallest one then starts to speak. 

“Hey everyone. I'm Mekhi. I'm not Asian I'm biracial but that's just as cool. Pleased to meet you all.” he says as he gives a small bow when he finishes, his brown eyes then looking us all over. His hair is cut short on the sides and slicks back at the top. He has a white and black jacket that is over a simple button up shirt. His jeans are a dark blue and shoes are low top white.

“And I'm Sasha. Pleasure to meet you beautiful people.” Sasha has dark purple hair that fades into a pastel purple at the ends. She wears a light pink fuzzy sweater with white skinny jeans and grey boots. We all say our greeting back when Ajay cuts in.

“As you know I'm Ajay. This is Rory, Trevor, Erin, Storme, Skye, Clint and Natalie. Glad to have everyone.” there's collective waves and hellos when it falls silent again.

“So we have assigned rooms to everybody, it was random as I used a random internet generator. You may pick the room but make sure you both want that room. The pairs are: Rory and Sasha, Trevor and Mekhi, Clint and Killian, Natalie and Icaruna, Erin and Remi, and Storme and Skye because we had two extra and you two are… comfortable with each other.” he gives us a look before setting his eyes back on the newcomers. My cheeks get a tad bit warmer but I still give a confused look towards Skye who is bashfully looking at the ground. 

“Alright everyone go ahead and get situated and we will get started in about twenty minutes.” after Ajay says this people split off to go and put their stuff in their respective rooms. Skye goes up to the room I picked while I go and take a seat on the couch in the living area. I'm soon joined by Killian who sits on the smaller couch across from me. He looks down at his phone and begins typing something furiously. Neither of us say anything to each other until Icaruna comes up. She ruffles her brother's hair, who gets annoyed and fixes it, then plops down on the couch.

“Storme right?” she asks me pointing a finger in my direction.

“Uh. Yeah that's me.” I say honestly a little caught off guard, I wasn't expecting them to voluntarily talk to me.

“Sweet. Our rooms are next to each other. I talked to Skye for a bit. Do you two both like punk stuff?” Icaruna leans forward a bit when she asks me this. Killian seems to take interest as he glances up from his phone.

“I guess so. Though Skye is way more into punk stuff than I am. I find it cool though.” I inform them both, a small smile naturally making its way onto my face. After that people begin making their way back down the stairs and Ajay enters.

“Alright, so I have some stuff planned out today.” He brings out a folded piece of paper he had in his pocket.

“It's like nine a.m. are we really going to start now?” Trevor whines from his place in the kitchen, sifting through the refrigerator. 

“Yes. There's a lake nearby and I figure if we get all this stuff done we can go for a leisurely swim.” Ajay suggest earning some excited nods and agreements.

“We will start off easy. Two truths and a lie. Where you tell two truths and one lie and everybody has to guess what the lie is. Who wants to go first?” Ajay pulls up a chair from the kitchen and sets it by the couch where most of us are. Remi's hand shoots up first.

“Go ahead.” Ajay acknowledges. And so we begin. All of us learning more and more things about one another. Remi having been an introvert but turned thrill seeker, Killian playing lots of pranks at one point, Mekhi dabbling in short films, Icaruna and her many volunteer adventures, and Sasha having a video game fascination. This game lasts for a couple hours then Ajay decides to start the next event which is a blindfolded obstacle course. The partners are randomised again, Remi being mine. We actually do pretty well, we placed second but mostly because Remi gives good instruction. Rory and Mekhi placed first. We finish off with a guessing game, it was basically charades except nerdified. We have lunch which consist of some Chinese food and some fruits. It's about four in the afternoon and we're let off to go to the lake. Skye dresses down a bit with some shorts and a short sleeved shirt but otherwise says she doesn't really want to go swimming. I put on my bathing suit and throw a sleeveless shirt and some shorts over it. We all head down to the lake and it's quite beautiful. There's a few people there already, a couple groups building bonfires and there's even a platform in the lake with some people lounging on it. We pick a spot for our group to lounge around and I take a seat next to Skye on a rock, a little ways away from everybody else. A few of our friends head into the water, along with our new acquaintances. I look towards Skye and see a faraway look in her eye.

“Skye? Sorry if you didn't want to bunk with me. I don't want to smother you or anything. I’ll be fine if you want to switch rooms.” I rub the back of my neck in nervousness. Skye turns her attention towards me and just furrows her eyebrows.

“No no. I um, I'm okay with us staying in the same room.” she says, blushing, and turns back to where she was looking once she says that. I let out a low chuckle and pull her into my side. She subtly snuggles into my side when I let go and we just lean a bit against one another. After about an hour I get her to come and squat by the edge of the water and we start picking out cool looking rocks and watching the tiny fish. Skye seems so happy being able to let go, at least a little bit, and just have fun. She's currently trying to show me a fish she saw swim in between some rocks. I can't help the smile that comes to my face from seeing her like this so I give her a quick kiss on the cheek. She turns to me quickly, a faint blush on her cheeks. I give her a toothy smile, her nudging me a bit with her shoulder. Then suddenly we are interrupted.

“I should have known. All you ever do is disappoint everyone.” Skye freezes, bolting upright and turning around. I slowly turn and see who I know as her brother, Brian. His arms are crossed and he has a smug look on his face, judging by the way he's dressed he's here for a party. There's some people standing a few feet behind him, not engaging but still aware of what's happening. My eyes draw back to Brian who is looking at Skye with malice in his eyes, it puts me on edge so I stand up but stay back for now. Brian's eyes drift over to me and he gives me a disgusted look. 

“Figures. A loser like yourself needs to stick with other losers.” he scoffs while giving my a once over, his arms falling to his sides.

“Go home Skye. You don't deserve to have fun. You're ruining the atmosphere.” he states before he turns away, ending the conversation.

“I'm here for a trip Brian. I'm not leaving.” Skye says. Her hands are clenched into fists at her sides and her gaze is dead set on Brian. He stops for a second then turns around and gets closer to her, almost right in her face.

“What? Did you talk back to me you roach?” he puffs out his chest a bit, clearly not use to being challenged. Skye tries not to waver but I can see her retract a bit. 

“I want to be here Brian so I'm sta-” the next few seconds seem to happen very quickly but also in slow motion as Brian reacts. He lifts his hand and brings it down across Skye's cheek. Her head snaps to one side, the force of the hit making her stumble a little. I react without really thinking. I move past Skye and throw a wild punch at Brian, hitting him square in the jaw. In movies they make it look really cool but my right hand stings with pain from the impact. I groan and grab it with my left because it hurts so bad, Brian recovering from the blow in that time. He turns on me quickly with anger in his eyes. He throws a punch at me, the left side of my jaw erupting in pain. My knees buckle from the impact, as I try shaking my head to lessen it but it's no use. He quickly picks me up by my shirt.

“Don't mess with me you filthy weasel.” he spits into my face, I am only half paying attention when he throws me to the ground. Black spots burst in my vision as a massive headache clouds my thoughts. I can hear people yelling but I can't really see anything. I can feel soft hands gently touching my face. I open my eyes and see that it's Skye, behind her are people pushing Brian away. Erin is angrily yelling in his face as a few of his friends drag him away. Mekhi, Killian, and Rory are standing between them either pushing Brian away or trying to stop Erin from fighting. Ajay tells Clint and Natalie something as they both run off to the cabin. Icaruna runs up behind Skye and examines my face, gently turning it left and right. After Brian is gone and Erin is not chasing after him anymore they crowd around me. They start talking to each other, some looking more frantic than others. It is all just noise to me right now. My eyes are glued to Skye though, a faint red mark beginning to show on her face. Must hurt. I'm soon hauled off the ground and getting piggybacked. A spike of pain makes its way to my head once I'm lifted up. Mr. Olson races by with his ear to the phone.

“Be careful. Don't jostle her too much.” Ajay says scolding Mekhi. Ajay hangs back to talk with Mr. Olson. The others lead the way back towards the cabin while I try not to focus on anything that hurts. I feel a hand tightly grip my fingers and see that it's Skye. She sticks close but never looks my way. I'm carried all the way up to my room and notice there's some supplies to clean my wounds and a few extra blankets. I'm set down and the people that stay are Erin, Rory, and Icaruna. Skye nowhere in sight. An alcohol swab is touched to my forehead and the sting causes me to hiss in pain. Icaruna is getting gauze squares out and after Erin cleans my forehead the gauze is placed and taped over it. Rory presses a bag of ice to my jaw and the cold sends a chill up my spine. After they make sure I'm comfortable, and hand me a few painkillers, they calm down and Erin and Icaruna leave, Rory staying behind. She fusses a bit over me but it soon grows quiet.

“Rory. Where's Skye?” I hesitantly ask, she looks to me and gives me a small smile. 

“I can go get her for you.” Rory says softly. She gets up and makes her way out the door. After about ten minutes of waiting I hear a quiet knock. 

“Come in.” I whisper out. I look towards the door and Skye enters, her head hung looking uncomfortable. 

“This is your room to Skye. You don't have to knock.” I try to joke around but as she moves into the room I see a mark forming on her cheek, my face hardens in anger. Skye flinches but otherwise closes the door and moves to sit on the bed next to me. She's quiet for a bit, not wanting to make eye contact with me. 

“Storme. I'm so sorry.” Skye's voice cracks when she begins talking. I immediately sit up and reach out to her. She shrinks in on herself the smallest amount when I pull her into a hug.

“This isn't your fault Skye. The messes your family make aren't yours. You are your own person and you're a pretty awesome one.” I state. She lets out a sob and begins quietly crying. She clenches onto the front of my shirt as if it's a safety net. She stays like that for roughly fifteen minutes until she stops shaking. I honestly can't tell if she fell asleep or not. I slowly pull her head away from its hiding place in my neck. Her eyes are closed and there's a few tear stains running down her face. I place both my hands on her cheeks and bring our faces closer together. I close my eyes and slowly rub the tip of my nose back and forth against hers, Eskimo kiss. I pull back to see her face clearly, rubbing my thumb across her cheek. Her eyes flutter open and stare right into mine. 

“Hi.” I whisper so quietly I'm not sure if she can hear me at all. She places both her hands on my legs that are half crossed.

“Hey.” she whispers back just as quietly. I drop my hands from her cheeks and rest them in our laps. She scans my face probably looking at the damage. I flash a smile and she lets out a sigh. 

“I wasn't allowed to come. My parents said there wasn't a point in coming. That it would be a waste of time. I got the signature forged and left to your house before they woke up. I spend a few days away from home sometimes so they wouldn't notice anyway. Besides, they don't care where I am unless I take interest in something so they can rip it away. I didn't know Brian would be here. It's my fault Storme.” she explains to me, quick and full of regret. I slightly blow a puff of air into her face. Her eyebrows furrow and she gives me a look of annoyance and confusion. 

“Stop. Your parents suck and your brother sucks. Right now they are terrible people that don't see the amazing and beautifulness that is you. None of this is your fault, nobody here blames you. Especially me. So please, don't blame yourself. Okay?” I say. I begin wiping at the tear stains again as a few more have fallen. She sniffles and nods her in confirmation. She falls into another hug. A knock is heard at the door and Skye sinks into me trying to hide her face. 

“Hey. Some of us are going back down to the lake. We scoped it out and Brian and his crew are gone. You can come with us if you're up for it.” Erin is heard from the other side the question being open ended, not expecting anything from us. Footsteps can be heard leaving the door, not waiting for an answer. 

“Come on, we should go enjoy it and not let anyone ruin it.” I tell Skye as I go to stand up. She rubs her eyes and stands as well.

“You aren't too hurt are you? Will you be okay?” Skye worriedly asks me.

“Yeah. It doesn't really hurt that bad. I'll be fine don't worry. They're mostly just scrapes anyway.” I say getting my shoes back on.

“Okay. But if you need anything than tell someone.” Skye gives me one more once over before following me out the door and down to the lake. We spot everyone, including Mr. Olson, in the same place as last time but now there's a small fire going. Skye sticks close to me and glances my way every few seconds. I give her a look letting her know I'm fine and she can relax but she can only tone it down so much. When we make it back we get collective heys and cheers. It's dark by now, the stars shining clearly in the sky. The mood of the group goes back to normal, nobody mentioning what happened earlier and I'm grateful for that. Erin, acting like the mom she is, keeps babying me and trying to not let me 'strain myself’. As the night goes on Skye gets more touchy feely, clearly still shaken up from the whole thing. I'm currently sitting in a folding lawn chair that was brought down to have around the fire, Skye standing in front of me as I stare up at her. She is looking at my face one hand gently caressing the wound on my temple, a worried look across her face. There's a smile on my face trying to reassure her that I'm fine but otherwise letting her continue. 

“Skye your girlfriend is fine. Relax a little. Enjoy the night air.” a voice cuts in. It's Trevor. Her cheeks go pink before her hands drop from my face and she turns around. A few laughs are heard as she crosses her arms and gives a scoff trying to play it off. She sits down in my lap, my hands coming to rest on her legs as she links hers with mine. 

“You two are dating?” I peek from behind Skye and see that Mekhi is the one that asked. A laugh escapes me as I try to stop it from being heard but fail as Icaruna covers a smile and Skye shakes her head at me. Before either of us can answer Natalie cuts in.

“Of course they're dating. Look how adorable they are.” she points in our direction like it would prove a point. 

“They are quite cute.” Sasha says as she rubs her chin as if she is weighing facts. Remi looks between the two of us. Then nods in acceptance giving a thumbs up and a wink. Everyone goes back to their respective conversations. There's a light breeze that picks up in the chilled night air. Skye leans back further into me, seeking something but I'm not sure what. The back of her neck is close to my face, a small section exposed. I lean forward and run my cold nose along it. I see goosebumps rise on her skin after I do this. I stifle a chuckle as I nuzzle into her neck. I feel her shiver and her hands squeeze mine a bit. This time I do quietly laugh as I release her hands and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her as close as I can. She lets out a sigh as I simply rest my head against her back. After a couple more hours I grow tired, the adrenaline of today taking a toll on me. 

“Skye.” I whisper to her. She is listening to someone tell ghost stories, another bonding activity. She hums at me letting me know she can hear me.

“I'm tired. Can we go back? I don't wanna go alone.” I say while she tries to turn a bit in my arms to see me. 

“Sure. Let me just tell Ajay.” she whispers back. I detach my arms from around her and let her stand and walk over to Ajay. She says something to him quietly causing him to look over her shoulder at me then nod in confirmation. He turns back as Skye heads my way. I get up from the chair, Skye taking my hand in hers as she leads me towards the cabin. The whole way back I am only half paying attention. My mind is just set on curling up and getting some rest. We make it back to the cabin and back to the room. I go to the bathroom and finally see my face. I have a pretty gnarly looking scrape across my right temple, probably from skidding on the ground, and it's mostly covered by a square gauze and some tape keeping it in place. My left jaw has a medium sized forming bruise that's tender to the touch. I also have a very small cut under my left eye but it's hardly noticeable. I do my nightly routine and put on some joggers and an old t-shirt. I exit the bathroom and head back to the room. Skye isn't there so I get into my bed and huddle under a blanket. Skye comes in and she's carrying a bag of ice and has a bottle of water. She spots me in the bed and places the water near me and hands me the bag of ice.

“It's for your bruise. It'll keep the swelling down.” she looks away when talking but stays close by. She's already dressed for bed, she must have used one of the other bathrooms. 

“Skye. I told you I don't blame you for this so please can-” Skye shakes her head and stops me before I continue.

“No it's not that. I just. I realized my parents will never know how much you mean to me. When my brother hit you I was so shocked that I just stood there. I wanted to do something but my body just wouldn't do it. I care about you a lot Storme. I don't care what anyone says about us, you make me happy. I want you to know that.” Skye shuffles around a lot when she's admitting this to me. Fiddling with her hands and touching the ends of her hair. There's something I want to ask her but I'm not sure if she'll be okay with. Five seconds of bravery. 

“Skye do you want to sleep with me?” I blurt it out, my brain doesn't even get to process the words before I say them. Skye breaks out in a blush and so do I after realizing what I just said. I sit up and wave my hands to dismiss what I said.

“Not like that! It sounded wrong coming out of my mouth. Really sleep. I just meant like share a bed. You know?” I try to explain in my flustered state. Skye seems to recover faster than I do and gives me a warm smile. She pulls the blanket back and climbs in. She lays on her side and has the softest look in her eyes. I turn on my side so we're now laying face to face. I give her a dorky smile which makes her laugh, a sweet sound that I want to hear forever. Once she stops laughing we just gaze at each other, soaking in the moment. We both lean forward to close the distance, breathing each other in for a second then sealing our lips in a kiss. One of her hands finds its way to the nape of my neck, running her fingers through the hair there. This kiss has much more emotion behind it compared to our other ones. It's passionate and a bit urgent but strong and grounding, almost like a rope tethering us to one another. A silent promise that lets us know we have each other. We pull away just enough to catch our breath. Her eyes are closed as if she is trying to calm her emotions. I examine her face and my eyes take in every detail. The red mark looking a bit swollen. I lean my forehead against hers and gently rub my thumb over the red mark. It almost feels hot to the touch, warmer than the rest of her body. I lean away and reach over grabbing the bag of ice. I slowly place it on the red mark, Skye opening her eyes and jumping a bit in surprise. 

“You're hurt to. Because you took care of me, I'll take care of you.” I softly say to her. She doesn't protest just lets me ice it for a few minutes. Once the ice starts melting I remove it from her cheek and see the swelling has gone down. I place a gentle kiss over it and put the bag down. I push a few strands of hair behind her ear and place a kiss on her nose. She scrunches up her nose and rubs at it. I know she isn't the biggest fan of nose kisses but she was too cute. I press closer to her wanting to bury myself away from the nonsense. She places her chin on my head as she wraps her arms around me. I throw one arm over her waist while the other holds tightly onto her shirt. Sleep comes easy that night, a pleasant dream filled night. 

Birds. That's all I hear. The distant sound slowly growing louder as my mind comes out of the stage of sleep. Not wanting to get up quite yet I keep my eyes closed and just feel the moment. I can hear the sound of a few birds communicating with one another outside. There's a few muffled voices that can be heard from outside the room. The smell of breakfast in the air. I can feel the warmth of a body pressed against mine. The feeling of a soft hand gently scratching the back of my neck. 

“Storme. Time to get up.” Skye whispers into my hair, placing a kiss right after. 

“No. Just a bit longer.” I press closer and whine into her neck. I let out a sigh as she relaxes into my touch. My arm is still thrown over her side and our legs are entwined. Her hand that was lightly scratching the back of my neck starts trailing to my upper back and rubs slow circles into it. I'm on the edge of slumber when a knock comes from the door.

“There's food. Better get down quick before Killian and Remi eat it all. They're having a contest.” it was Erin's voice filtering in through the door. Her footsteps can be heard shuffling away and down the stairs as Skye pats my back to let me know it's time to really get up. I'm not sure if it's my sleep riddled mind or if it's because having Skye so close for so long makes me bolder but I wait until I feel her shuffle to make my move. I push my body a bit more into hers pushing her onto her back. I trail the tip of my nose languidly up her neck to her ear. She releases a shiver as I'm now barely hovering above her, the left part of my body mostly keeping me up as to not put all my weight on her. Her hand has fallen to the edge of my shirt, gripping it in her fingers.

“Morning princess.” I quietly say next to her ear. I pull my face away so I'm able to look at her own. Her eyes are staring up into mine. She isn't wearing her black lipstick yet but I can tell she already got up to freshen up earlier.

“I'm not a princess. I'm a witch.” Skye responds back with a slight smirk on her face. I roll my eyes and let a smile grace my face.

“Yeah but you're my punk princess. No worries though I won't let anyone know your secret identity. Just between you and me.” I jokingly say back, she lets out a low giggle and I lean in to give her a peck on the lips. Before I get there though she clasps a hand over my mouth. 

“Get ready first then you get a reward from the princess.” she teases me before placing a kiss over her hand and then directing my face away. I groan but relent and get off the bed and head into the bathroom with a pair of clothes. I take a quick shower and finish my morning routine. I put on some maroon pants, a dark colored flannel with the sleeves rolled up, and some black high topped shoes. I dry my hair with a hair dryer and once that's done I step out of the bathroom and head back to the room to put my dirty clothes away. I stick the dirty clothes into a bag and zip it up. I head towards the door and right before I step through the frame, I bump into Skye. She catches my arm when I reach out and steadies herself before letting go. I see she is ready now as I take in her outfit and my eyes go wide for a second. She's wearing a grey and black striped shirt with ripped black skinny jeans and black combat boots. She also has on a denim jacket on. My denim jacket. Skye fidgets under my gaze, a faint blush gracing her cheeks. My eyes fall to the jacket then back to her face.

“Sorry. I should have asked if I can borrow it. I just saw it draped on the chair and thought it would be okay. Sorry.” she starts to pull it off but I place a hand on her arm to stop her. 

“No. I just thought it was um, nice seeing you in my stuff.” I stutter back. I look away from her as my face seems to heat up at admitting this.

“I'll keep that in mind.” she says, reaching for my hand and leading me down the stairs. I follow her and the sight that greets us as we step into the kitchen is wild. Remi and Killian are in fact having a contest, a pancake eating contest. To add on top of that, Sasha and Erin are having a pancake art contest. Icaruna walks back and forth and cheers everybody on. Ajay sits and simply enjoys his breakfast while watching everybody. Mekhi sits next to him and they seem to exchange small conversations. Trevor is just as hyped cheering them on while taking bites of food. Clint is lounging in the living area on the couch. Rory and Natalie chatting away from behind us, descending the stairs right after us. Ajay motions his head towards a few plates of food that have been saved for whoever wasn't downstairs. We each grab a plate and sit down in seats that aren't occupied. I eventually get lured into making pancake art after I finish my breakfast. It's harder than it seems but they still taste delicious. After everyone has breakfast, and both Killian and Remi lose the contest as they now feel sick, Ajay steps in front of everyone and tells us what's happening today.

“We have a scavenger hunt set up. Since the area that needs to be covered is expansive, there's two teams. Team one is Rory, Icaruna, Clint, Skye, Mekhi and Remi. Team two is Sasha, Erin, Killian, Natalie, Storme, and Trevor. I will be giving hints through walkie talkies if you need them. Each team gets three. I'll be waiting at the end. Here's a map of the park and here is your first clue.” he hands each team a worn, folded piece of paper. It's thicker than normal paper and smells a bit musty. The teams split off and we begin. Sasha opens up the paper and begins reading. 

“‘Do not get greedy. I am not above but below. I may be Gram but you need to glow.’ Alright. This makes no sense.” her head tilts a bit as if an answer will appear. Erin looks over her shoulder at the paper a look crossing her face. 

“Well it's something on the ground, or close to it, we just need to figure out where.” She crosses her arms, a look of concentration prominent on her face. 

“Can I see?” Natalie asks Sasha. She nods and hands the paper to Natalie. Her eyes scan the words carefully. 

“Gram. Gram. The word Gram is important.” she points out to everybody.

“Yeah but what does that mean?” Trevor asks as his eyebrows furrow in thought. I run through the words over and over in my head until something strikes me. Greedy. Gram.

“It's a sword!” I exclaim. All heads turn towards me and I get a few confused looks. 

“Gram. It's a sword. In Norse myth Sigurd uses the sword to kill Fafnir. It gets placed in a tree.” I excitedly say to everyone. A look of recognition crosses Killian's face as Sasha speaks up.

“I remember reading about that. So we look for the family tree? There's tons of trees though.” she grumbles as she realizes this.

“Yeah. But there's only one giant tree.” Erin says. We look at the map and head towards one of the parks attractions, a tree that has been around for hundreds of years and is the biggest one in the park. We make our way and look for something in the tree, coming up empty handed.

“Below. Not above. Check the ground around the tree for something that glows.” Trevor explains to everyone. Soon everyone is looking close to the ground. Natalie sticks her hand under a rather large tree root and pulls out a handheld blacklight. There's a note wrapped around it. She unfurls the note and begins to read aloud.

“‘It is true there are many swords, but only the Lady can make you king of the land.’ maybe we talk to someone?” Natalie gives a confused look then shrugs her shoulders.

“No. There's a pattern. Sword, sword. Myth, myth. It's talking about Excalibur. The Lady of the Lake.” Killian speaks up for the first time. I give him a smile and he just gives a nod back. 

“To the lake!” Trevor yells marching down the path. Soon we make it to the lake.

“So now what? I hope we don't have to swim in the lake.” Trevor announces to the team. 

“No. Ajay wouldn't do that to us. Let's go somewhere we know. Like where we had our bonfire.” Erin responds back. We make our way towards the spot we stayed by last night and find a pile of smooth rocks that weren''t there before. 

“These rocks definitely mean something.” Natalie points out. Sasha picks one up and runs a thumb over it.

“I have an idea. May I see that light?” Sasha asks. Natalie hands Sasha the small light and then flips her jacket over the rocks to make it dark. After a few seconds she puts her jacket back on. 

“There's ink that can only be seen using this light. The rocks are numbered and have some weird symbols on them.” Sasha pulls about eight rocks from the pile and lines them up. She shows everybody the symbols on one side. 

“I know those symbols. They're viking symbols.” Trevor pipes in after getting a look at the rocks. I quickly pull out my phone and look for a cipher. I find one and translate the symbols to modern English. 

“Longboat. I assume we look for something that looks like a longboat.” I inform everyone of our new destination. 

“Or somewhere.” Natalie says. We all give her confused looks before she starts walking back to the cabin, we all follow. We end up getting into the van we took and driving a little ways to some small shops nearby. There's a sign right above one shop that's sticks out “Longboat Cafe”. We all exit the van and make our way inside the cafe. Sure enough Ajay is sitting at a rather large booth sipping from a cup. He looks up at us and waves us over. We make our way into the booth and wait for him to talk.

“Congratulations. Not only did you not need a clue from me but you also got here first.” Ajay pauses and looks back towards the door. 

“But not by much it seems.” he continues. He takes a sip from his cup and then the other team joins us at the booth. It's enough to fit us all if we pack in a bit. Skye is the last to enter the shop and sits on the edge opposite of me. Remi is seated on the edge next to me and glances between us. They let out a sigh and stand up, moving towards Skye and motioning in my direction. I give Skye a wide grin as she gets up and sits down next to me. I connect our hands as she looks down at the menu. 

“You two are so cute.” Icaruna says to us, her elbow propped on the table with her chin resting on her hand. A few others give laughs and agreements as my cheeks warm up but my smile stays glued to my face. The waitress comes and Skye shifts a little bit closer to me as she orders a drink. Once the waitress comes back and Skye takes a drink of the hot cocoa she ordered I turn to her. 

“Was your scavenger hunt hard?” I ask. She turns her head and faces me. She shakes her head no.

“We surprising got along well enough to pull it off. You beat us here though. Mekhi was speeding on the way over.” she says. Skye takes another sip of her drink. She catches me watching and holds the cup out towards my mouth. I gently tip the edge of the cup up so I can get a sip. The warmth quickly spreads through my body. The taste of chocolate and whipped cream bursting in my mouth. I let the cup fall away from my mouth, Skye placing it back onto the table. I lick my top lip to remove any remnants of the drink and turn back to Skye.

“It's good.” I tell her which she nods and smiles to. The scavenger hunt lasted surprisingly longer than what it felt like. It took us about three hours to solve everything and then get here. We spend about an hour eating and enjoying the company until we decide we should head back to the cabin. Once we reach it and all head inside we decide to spend the rest of our time doing whatever we want. Some split to watch a movie while others go to play some board games or just lounge around. I join Ajay, Sasha, Rory, Clint and Natalie in their board game. It's some sort of word game where you have to make as many words as you can until all the letters are gone. Sasha wins that one. I leave the table and find Skye. She's lounging on the couch watching some sort of princess movie with Icaruna, Trevor, and Erin. I settle in next to her and watch as a main character finds a castle of ice. They comment on parts of the movie at certain points making it more entertaining to watch. The three of them are seated a bit in front of us due to the way the seating is set up. Skye is seated next to the armrest of the small couch while I sit right next to her. I lean over to whisper in her ear.

“Where's my reward princess?” I asks. She blushes at the question. She glances past me to the others checking to see if they are paying attention to us. They haven't noticed. I tilt my head slightly at her while waiting for an answer. Skye quickly places a peck on my cheek then turns back to the movie. I pout and lean into her a bit more. 

“Aw. Princess. I thought I would get a knightly reward.” I say. Skye turns back to me and raises one eyebrow.

“What does that even mean?” she asks while trying to stay quiet and not draw attention.

“You know. Like something the princess gives a knight for saving her or something.” I lean back and wave my hand in a circle as if it will portray what 'something’ meant. Skye's eyes light up for a second before she takes one last look at her surroundings. She grabs on to the collar of my shirt and brings me in for a deep kiss. I'm surprised at the suddenness of it but my eyes flutter closed. I am suddenly aware of everything that is Skye. The softness of her body pressed against mine. The faint smell of flowers that seems to always surround her. The light taste of peppermint as we kiss. Her hand snakes its way to the back of my neck then lightly scratches its way back again. I give a shiver at the contact. I can hear our breathing getting more rapid and heavy. My heart is beating so loud and fast I can hear it in my ears and wonder if she can hear it to. She lightly nips at my bottom lip as we pull away, our breathing ragged. Our faces stay close, her hand resting on my cheek. Our eyes stay locked on one another. Once we have calmed our breathing enough she whispers to me.

“Thank you.” when she says this she gently rubs at the bruise on my jaw. In that instance I know that she's referring to what happened with Brian. I give her a small smile, giving her a kiss on her forehead. She drops her hand and embraces me around my shoulders. I lay my head on her chest as she stretches out her legs and leans back a bit into the armrest, my arms encircling her waist. I listen to her calming heartbeat and close my eyes at the soothing noise. After I hear the credits start to roll on the screen, I place my chin on Skye's chest and look up at her. The welt on her cheek is already fading and seems like it could be completely gone by tomorrow. She's discussing something about the movie with the other three. Trevor passionately talking about something that happened with a few interruptions from Icaruna and Erin, Skye looks to me. 

“What?” she asks me but all I do is stare back at her. After a few moments she places her hand over my eyes.

“Why are you just staring at me you weirdo.” she chuckles at me then removes her hand from my eyes. 

“I just want to admire my beautiful girlfriend.” I shrug at her. Her cheeks go pink as she shakes her head and looks away with a smile. I place a kiss on the hollow of her neck and lay my head back down. We stay like that for about thirty minutes until we are told it's time to get our stuff packed so we can be ready when it's time to leave. Skye and I haul ourselves up and make our way towards the room to pack up our belongings. Skye is packing her stuff at a slower pace so once I zip up my bag I turn to her. 

“Something wrong?” I question. She sighs and drops a shirt she was folding and turns to me. 

“I don't want to go home Storme. I want to be happy, I want to be anywhere but there.” she chokes down a sob, her head hung low as a few tears fall. I lead Skye by the wrist towards the small room in the closet. I close the door and sit her on the small couch. I crouch down in front of her so I'm kneeling on the floor. My thumbs swipe under her eyes to rid of the tears falling there. 

“Skye. We are all here for you. I'm here for you. We will help you anyway we can. If you want you can stop at home and come back to my house, maybe even stay the night. I'll wait for you. Okay?” I assure her. I sit up onto my knees so Skye and I are face to face with each other. She nods sadly in response. Hopefully my words stay cemented in her brain because they are true. I place a lingering kiss on her lips. Skye's hand reaching up and gripping my forearm, bringing me in for another kiss. My hand ghosts over the fading mark left by Brian. 

“I promise.” I say as I place a final kiss on her lips. She connects our foreheads and tries to pull me closer for more contact. I wipe away the last few fallen tears and move so I'm closer to her. I drop my hands to her thighs and do my best to comfort her and calm her down.

“No more crying princess. Want to stay in here a little longer?” I ask her causing her to let out a half chuckle. 

"No we can go. This room is really cool though. Relaxing." She replies back.

She wipes a few times at her face and gives me a final kiss before she nods to let me know she's okay now. I stand up and pull her along with me. We exit the small room and are met with the sight of Erin. 

“Hey kids. Are you all packed? We’re going to leave soon.” she reads the atmosphere and looks us over.

“Are you two okay?” she cautiously asks us both. Skye gives a nod and I smile.

“Yes mom. We are fine.” I tell her. She narrows her eyes then waves us off, leaving the room and heading downstairs. I finish helping Skye pack her bag and once she's done we take them downstairs. While we were inside it rained for a bit causing the ground around our vehicles to get muddy. Currently Rory, Erin, Sasha and Mekhi are trying to get the smaller car out with a rope attached to the van. Ever so slowly it inches out of the deepest parts of the mud. Killian walks over and detaches the rope from the van and car he trudges his way back as a disgusted look crosses his face. 

“Well, these shoes are ruined.” he says trying to knock off pieces of mud by stomping his feet but most of it stays. He then goes over to try and water his shoes down. Icaruna laughs at her brother's failed attempt but goes to try and figure out a way to not get into his situation. She eventually comes out with plastic bags on her feet. She and a few others help get everyone's bags in the respective vehicles. There's a few new additions to our van. Ajay and Trevor switched with Sasha and Icaruna with the addition of Killian. Once all the bags have been placed in people try and get as little mud into the vehicles as possible. Some adopting the ways of Icaruna while others try different ways, or if you're Remi just hopping around avoiding the floor as much as possible while yelling "lava!". I fasten the two bags to my feet as best I can in hopes the mud won't get them dirty. I look towards a laughing Skye as she watches Remi hop around. She looks back and notices there's no more bags. She looks back out towards the mud but before she can take a step I stop her.

“Skye wait.” I walk over to her and bend down a little, gesturing towards my back. 

“I'll help you princess.” I say to her making sure the others don't hear. She laughs but allows me to give her a piggyback ride to the van. With the added weight, it's tough to move through the mud but we eventually make it. I let Skye get in first so she doesn't have to touch the ground. I sit on the seat, keeping my feet out of the van, and remove the bags from around my shoes. I feel Skye place her chin on my shoulder and whispers to me.

“If you keep calling me princess, I'm going to have to call you paladin.” she says as she pulls away and ruffles my hair a bit. I turn around in the seat and face her.

“Why paladin?” I ask chuckling a bit.

“Has a better ring to it than knight.” she explains as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Well I will gladly wear that title.” I say. She reaches towards me and pulls me closer to her by my hand. I settle in next to her and fasten my seatbelt as she does hers. Soon everyone is packed up and in the vehicles and we're ready to head home. We begin our drive and Icaruna is soon taking pictures of everyone and everything. We talk about random things and share funny stories and when a good song comes on we sing along. Time quickly passes by as we drop off Icaruna and Killian first. We say our goodbyes and we head to the next house. We are then at Skye's mansion, well her parents mansion. I tell Erin to wait for me for a second and I get out of the van with Skye, shutting the car door behind me. Her head is down and she looks to be thinking of something. I notice there aren't any cars in the driveway so the house must be empty. I turn Skye so she is facing me and pull her into a hug. She lets out a quiet sigh as she rests her head on my shoulder. 

“My offer still stands. If you want, I'll wait out here for you to get some stuff to stay at my house.” I say. The air is frigid around us, our breathing causing small clouds to form. The warmth from our embrace is like a blanket draped over us. Skye takes my hand in hers and pulls away from me. 

“I'll be back in a minute.” I almost am surprised at what Skye says. She's already on her way inside by the time my brain processes. 

“What's going on?” I spin around and see that Erin has rolled the passenger window down and is casting me a questioning look. 

“I'm just waiting for Skye and then you can drive to my house. It'll only be a moment.” I let Erin know. She nods her head and rolls the window back up, the music growing a bit louder. I turn back towards the mansion and wait for Skye to emerge. The water in the fountain looks still and refreshingly cold. A flower sits absolutely still in the water. I hear a door open and shut and look up to see Skye walking towards me. She motions to the van with her head and we both get in. The ride to my house is silent other than the music playing lowly in the background. Erin soon pulls up at my house, turning around and giving us both a wave. 

“I'll see you guys tomorrow.” she says as Skye and I make our way to the front door. We wave goodbye and head inside my house. When we walk inside, my parents are there to greet us. 

“Storme! Are you okay sweetheart?” my mom comes up to me and smothers me in a hug before looking at my face with worry. My dad is not too far behind her.

“I'm fine. I'm fine.” I try telling them in between the worried examinations. My mom has my face squished between her hands while my dad looks me over. Carter looks at me from his place on the couch, his show paused. My dad grabs the bag from my hand and sets it aside for me then brings me into a hug, which my mom joins. I'm smothered between them as they coo and continue to tell me how happy they are that I'm okay. I try pushing away from them but their parent strength is too strong so I settle and wait for them to stop worrying. I spot Skye over my mom's shoulder looking a bit out of place. 

"Hey Skye. Here to stay over?" Carter asks cutting into our parents worry, letting them know she's here. They both turn and look to her. She gives a small wave, and they soon are smothering her into the hug.

"Skye, sweetheart, are you alright? I heard about what happened with your brother." My mom questions Skye. They finally let us breathe as they pull away from the hug.

"Uh, yes. I'm okay. But, um, is it alright if I stay for the night?" Skye hesitantly asks. She cast her eyes down and fiddles with her fingers. My parents give each other a small smile then my dad gently puts a hand on Skye's shoulder.

"Of course. You're welcome here whenever you need." He says. She gives him a grateful smile and nod in return as he turns and heads upstairs.

"Goodnight kids. Get some sleep." He calls over his shoulder as he slowly disappears out of sight.

"We love you kids. Goodnight." My mom says as she trails behind Dad. The sound of their door clicking shut is quietly heard at the top of the stairs. I turn and face Skye, giving her a toothy smile and quick wink. The corners of her mouth turn upward as she rolls her eyes in fake annoyance. A groan is heard from the couch as Carter resumes what he was watching and gets comfortable again. I pick my bag back up and motion for Skye to follow me up the stairs. Once we reach my room I set my bag down and shut the door behind us. Skye puts her bag down by my closet and moves to sit on my bed. I get a running start and jump onto my bed causing Skye to bounce slightly from the impact. I lie on my back and stare at the ceiling, thinking about the events that transpired on the trip. Skye lets out a long sigh as she falls back onto the bed. We both lay in relative silence as we both stare up at nothing and let our thoughts run through us. 

"You know, that was our first trip we took together. I had fun." Skye breaks the silence. I turn my head to look at her. A small smile is on her lips. I give a smile in return.

"Yeah. We should definitely do it again." I say, grinning. 


End file.
